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Whether it’s in its traditional form or in the more modern guise of the eReader, the book is still a favourite of the masses. Amazon’s Kindle has not killed the book it seems, merely strengthened it with more people reading from their little electronic devices than ever. A popular genre these days involves the idea of a dystopian future – whether the resurgence of such a genre is due to the current issues with world’s environment, finances and military changes of power, it is hard to know. So, what are the top five books of a dystopian future? Children of Men Made into an average film, PD James’s classic book on the death of humanity through infertility is a stark and harrowing view of an alternative future. The book begins with the death of the youngest human being in a world of super Big Brother like proportions where an aging population can’t reproduce for the future. This fertile issue leaves human beings sitting in the face of the stark reality that they are a dying race. Add to this an immigrant problem and an isolated Britain from the rest of the dark world and you have a perfectly grim future where humans merely exist in a world of fear and regret controlled by the state. A wonderful book by James, who previous to this hit, was a crime writer in book shops. Watchmen Although not technically a book, this graphic novel is set in a world where the Cold War never ended and the world is counting down on the Dooms Day Clock to nuclear annihilation. Couple all this trouble with two blind sighted governments in a Mexican standoff, the outlawing of the superheroes who once kept the world at peace and are now being murdered, and of course a love story among all the carnage and amazing artwork and you have one hell of a story. Written by Alan Moore, who also created V for Vendetta, a similarly dark book, Watchmen is an amazing piece of art in every sense and has to be among the top five books on dystopian futures, even if superheroes are a tad farfetched. Minority Report Philip K Dick’s vision of our world in Minority Report is one where crime is eradicated, by the ability to see into the future, questions control and free will among other things. Philip K Dick’s book was released in the 1950s in a bookshop, but was then released as a film in 2002. The system where people are jailed for ‘pre-crime’, this is crimes that would have happened if they had not been prevented is examined in the story. This ability to see into the future is done by the three ‘precogs’ that generate a report on what will happen and create an individual minority report. If none of the ‘precogs’ agree then the two with the most overlap produce the majority report which is then used to arrest those who will commit crime in the future. Brave New World Brave New World, written by Aldous Huxley features a new world, where people are separated into five groups or castes, according to their mental attributes. This is a world where the top people, or Alphas, live in a place of comfort and are controlled by pleasure, taking tablets called Soma, to get away from it all. Set in 2532 AD, 632 years After Ford, this is a world where children are created in hatcheries like chickens and are bred to be suitable for certain castes to maintain the world’s economy at a certain balance. This is a world where spending is better than mending and mass consumption is central and never being alone to think at a premium – people are constantly connected to a world of technology. The only people outside of this world are The Savages, who are left in controlled compounds. The story unfolds when a savage, named John visits the Brave New World. 1984 Written by George Orwell, 1984 describes a world where people are kept in a war like state on rations and always at battle with another country. This is an industrial world where people are completely obedient to their country and are watched at every turn. Orwell portrays a very Cold War like scenario, where fear governs the world and people can’t even think outside of the ‘norm’ for fear of being convicted of ‘thought crime’. Everything is controlled from the choice of words used by people to the food they eat, yet once our character Winston Smith falls for a woman and begins a search for the truth, nothing is what it seems. All of these books are available at the Book Depository. ABOUT THE AUTHOR This article was written by Cormac Reynolds at www.5hop5.ie providing Promo codes for bookshops. Visit http://www.5hop5.ie for more information on 5hop5.ie products & Services. Copyright Information. This article is free for reproduction but must be reproduced in its entirety including live links and the copyright statement must be included. Visit www.5hop5.ie before you shop.
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